KSGAAL Highlights Arab Cultural Richness, Dialogue Promotion at UNESCO Arab Week

KSGAAL’s participation in Arab Week aimed to contribute to sustainable cultural development goals in Arab countries. SPA
KSGAAL’s participation in Arab Week aimed to contribute to sustainable cultural development goals in Arab countries. SPA
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KSGAAL Highlights Arab Cultural Richness, Dialogue Promotion at UNESCO Arab Week

KSGAAL’s participation in Arab Week aimed to contribute to sustainable cultural development goals in Arab countries. SPA
KSGAAL’s participation in Arab Week aimed to contribute to sustainable cultural development goals in Arab countries. SPA

Arab Week at the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) concluded in Paris, with the King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language (KSGAAL) seizing the opportunity to emphasize the richness of Arab culture and foster dialogue among various cultures.

KSGAAL’s participation in Arab Week -- celebrating the cultural diversity of the Arab world -- aimed to contribute to sustainable cultural development goals in Arab countries, aligning with the objectives of the Human Capability Development Program (HCDP) within the framework of Saudi Vision 2030.

During the event, the academy took part in a scientific seminar addressing a comprehensive vision of Arabic language policies. Experts discussed language policies, challenges they face, opportunities for improvement, and the shaping of linguistic realities.
Additionally, KSGAAL presented its project on Arabic language policy studies, outlining its methodological and scientific framework, objectives, challenges, and outcomes.
The academy’s involvement in Arab Week underscores its strategic goals and commitment to supporting the Arabic language and culture. KSGAAL highlighted Saudi Arabia's global efforts in language promotion, leveraging the occasion to bolster its local and international standing.
Through a range of linguistic initiatives, programs, and projects, KSGAAL is dedicated to preserving the integrity and cultural identity of the Arabic language, supporting it in both spoken and written forms, and facilitating its teaching and learning within Saudi Arabia and beyond.



Magritte Painting Nets Auction Record of $121 Million

Rene Magritte's "L'empire des lumières" is on display during a press preview for Christie's Fall 20/21 Marquee Week in New York, November 8, 2024. (AFP)
Rene Magritte's "L'empire des lumières" is on display during a press preview for Christie's Fall 20/21 Marquee Week in New York, November 8, 2024. (AFP)
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Magritte Painting Nets Auction Record of $121 Million

Rene Magritte's "L'empire des lumières" is on display during a press preview for Christie's Fall 20/21 Marquee Week in New York, November 8, 2024. (AFP)
Rene Magritte's "L'empire des lumières" is on display during a press preview for Christie's Fall 20/21 Marquee Week in New York, November 8, 2024. (AFP)

A painting by Rene Magritte shattered an auction record for the surrealist artist on Tuesday, selling for more than $121 million at Christie's in New York.

The seminal 1954 painting had been valued at $95 million, and the previous record for a work by Magritte (1898-1967) was $79 million, set in 2022.

After a nearly 10-minute bidding war on Tuesday, "Empire of Light" ("L'Empire des lumieres") was sold for $121,160,000, "achieving a world-record price for the artist and for a surrealist work of art at auction", according to auction house Christie's.

The painting -- depicting a house at night, illuminated by a lamp post, while under a bright, blue sky -- is one of a series by the Belgian artist showing the interplay of shadow and light.

"Empire of Light" was part of the private collection of Mica Ertegun, an interior designer who fled communist Romania to settle in the United States where she became an influential figure in the arts world.

She died in late 2023 and was married to the late Ahmet Ertegun, the music magnate who founded the Atlantic Records label.

The sale of the Magritte painting was an expected highlight of this week's autumn sales season in New York, at a time when the art market has seen a slowdown since last year.

Christie's -- which is controlled by Artemis, the investment holding company owned by the Pinault family -- said sales totaled $2.1 billion in the first half of this year.

That is down for the second straight year, after a peak of $4.1 billion in 2022 as the world emerged from the coronavirus pandemic.

During the same Christie's auction on Tuesday, a celebrated 1964 painting of a gas station by 86-year-old Ed Ruscha, titled "Standard Station, Ten-Cent Western Being Torn in Half," sold for $68.26 million, setting a new auction record for the American pop artist.